swsefandomcom-20200215-history
The Role of the Gamemaster
See also: Gamemastering The Gamemaster is the storyteller and referee, creator of terrible threats against the galaxy, secret master of the villainous, criminal, and ruthless, and hidden protector of the brave. The GM's responsibilities include several important tasks; each of these is outlined in this section. Creating Adventures As the GM, your primary role in the game is creating and presenting adventures in which the other players can play their heroes. To accomplish this, you need to spend some amount of time before the game preparing your stories. This is true whether you create your own adventures or use published ones. Creating adventures takes time. Many GMs find this creative process the most fun and rewarding part of being a Gamemaster. Creating interesting characters, settings, plots, and challenges to present to your friends can be a great creative outlet. In fact, creating good adventures is so important that it receives its own section in this chapter. Teaching the Game Sometimes, but not always, it's the GM's responsibility to teach newcomers how to play the game. This isn't a burden; it's a wonderful opportunity. Teaching other people how to play provides you with new players and allows you to set them on the path to becoming top-notch roleplayers. It's easier to learn to play with someone who already knows the game. Players who are taught by a good teacher in a fun game are more likely to stick with the hobby over the long haul. Use this opportunity to encourage new players to become the sort of gamers you want to play games with. Here are a few pointers on teaching the game: * You need to know the Character Creation rules so that you can help new players build characters. Have each player tell you what sort of hero he or she wants to play, then show the players how they can create those heroes with the Star Wars rules. If they don't know what to play, show them the five Heroic Classes, briefly describe each, and let them choose the one that most appeals to them. * Don't worry about teaching all the rules ahead of time. All the players need to know are the basics that apply to understanding their heroes (What hit points are, how to make attack rolls, how to use Skills, and so on), and they can pick up most of this information as the game progresses. * You need to know how to play the game. As long as you know the rules, the game can move along, and the players can simply focus on their characters and how they react to what happens in the game. Have players tell you what they want their characters to do and translate those decisions into game terms for them. Teach them how the rules work when they need to learn them, on a case-by-case basis. For example, if a player wants their Jedi to use The Force, the player tells you what the hero attempts as a result. After a few times, the player will know what to do without asking. Providing the Backdrop The Gamemaster is the creator of his or her own campaign. Even though you'll be basing your adventures in the Star Wars universe, it's still your campaign. Consistency is the key to creating a backdrop that feels real to the players. When the heroes go back to Mos Eisley for supplies, they should encounter some of the same characters they met before. Soon, they'll learn the cantina owner's name- and she'll remember them as well. Once you've achieved this level of consistency, however, provide an occasional change. If the heroes come back to have their Starfighter repaired again, they may discover that the man who ran the starport went back to Corellia, and his nephew now runs the family business. That sort of change- one that has nothing to do with the heroes directly, but which they'll notice- makes the players feel as though they're adventuring in a living universe as real as themselves. It's not just a flat backdrop that exists only for them to battle Stormtroopers or the villain-of-the-week. Determining the Style of Play While the GM provides the adventures and the universe, the players and the GM work together to create the game as a whole. However, it's the GM's responsibility to guide the way the game is played. The best way to accomplish this is by learning what the players want and figuring out what you want as well. Many styles of play exist, but a few are detailed below. Blast 'Em All! The heroes blow open the blast door, fight the Stormtroopers, and rescue the princess. This style of play is very straightforward. It's fun, exciting, and action-oriented. Very little time is spent on developing personas for the heroes, engaging in roleplaying encounters, or mentioning situations other than what's going on in the adventure. If you're running this type of game, let the heroes face obviously evil opponents and meet obviously helpful characters. Don't expect heroes to anguish over what to do with prisoners. Don't bother too much with credits earned or time spent recovering. Do whatever it takes to get the heroes back into the action as quickly as possible. A hero's motivation does not need to be more than a desire to fight evil (And maybe acquire credits). Rules and game balance are important in this style of play. Having heroes with combat ability greater than that of their companions can lead to unfair situations; the more powerful heroes can handle more of the challenges and thus their players have more fun. If you're using this style, be mindful about adjudicating the rules. Think long and hard about additions or changes that you want to make. Immersive Storytelling The Galactic Senate is threatened by political turmoil. The heroes must convince the senators to resolve their differences, but can only do so after they've come to terms with their own differing outlooks and agendas. This style of gaming is deep, complex, and challenging. The focus isn't on combat, but on talking, developing in-depth personas, and character interaction. Whole gaming sessions may pass without a single blaster being fired. In this style of game, most characters should be as complex and richly detailed as the heroes- although the focus should be on the motivation and personality, not game statistics. Expect digressions about what each player wants his or her hero to do, and why. Buying spare parts might be as important an encounter as fighting Battle Droids, (And don't expect the heroes to fight the Battle Droids at all unless their heroes have a good reason to do so.) Heroes will sometimes take actions against their players' best judgment because "That's what a hero would do." Adventures deal mostly with negotiations, political maneuverings, and character interaction. Players may even talk about the "Story" they're collectively creating. Quoting the rules is less important in this style of play. Since combat isn't the focus, game mechanics take a back seat to hero development. Skills take precedence over combat bonuses, and even then, the numbers don't have to be absolutes. Feel free to change things to fit the players' roleplaying needs, perhaps even streamlining the combat system so that it takes less time away from the story. Something in Between Most campaigns are going to fall between these two extremes. There's plenty of action, but there's also a plot line and interactions between heroes and Nonheroic characters. Players develop their heroes, but they're eager to get into fights as well. The "in between" style provides a nice mixture of roleplaying encounters and combat encounters. Even in combat missions, you can present characters who don't need to be killed. Instead, you can interact with them through diplomacy, negotiation, or a simple conversation. Adjudicating the Rules When everyone gathers around the table to play the game, the Gamemaster is in charge. That doesn't mean that you can tell people what to do outside the boundaries of the fame, but it does mean that you're the final arbiter of the rules within the game. Good players always recognize that you have the ultimate authority over the game mechanics. Good GMs know not to change or overturn an existing rule without a good, logical justification so the players don't grow dissatisfied. This means that you need to know the rules. You're not required to memorize the rulebook, but you should have a clear understanding of what's in the book so that when a situation comes up that requires ruling, you know where to reference the proper rule in the book. Often a situation arises that isn't explicitly covered by the rules. In such a situation, it's the GM who needs to provide guidance as to how it should be resolved. When you come upon a situation that doesn't seem to be covered by the rules, consider the following: * Look at any similar situation that is covered in the rules. Try to extrapolate from what you see presented there and apply it to the current circumstance. * If you have to make something up, stick with it for the rest of the campaign. (This is called a "House Rule.") Consistency keeps players satisfied and gives them the feeling that they are adventuring in a stable, predictable universe, not in some random, nonsensical place subject to the GM's whims. * When in doubt, remember this handy rule: Favorable circumstances provide a +2 bonus to any d20 roll; unfavorable circumstances impose a -2 penalty. You'll be surprised how often this "GM's secret rule" solves problems. Keeping the Game Balanced Game balance ensures that most hero choices are relatively equal. A balanced game is one in which one hero doesn't dominate over the rest because of a choice that he or she made (Species, Class, Talent, Feat, Force Power, weapon, and so on). It also reflects that the heroes aren't too powerful for the threats they face, yet neither are they hopelessly overmatched. Two things drive game balance: Good Management and Trust. Good Management A GM who carefully watches all portions of the game so that nothing gets out of control helps keep the game balanced. Heroes and characters, victories and defeats, awards and afflictions, items found and credits spent- all these things must be monitored. No one hero should ever become significantly more powerful than the others. If this does happen, the others should have an opportunity to catch up in short order. The heroes as a whole should never get so powerful that all challenges become trivial to them. Nor should they be constantly overwhelmed by what they must face. It's no fun to always lose, and always winning gets boring fast. When temporary imbalances do occur, it's easier to fix them by altering the challenges than by changing anything about the heroes and their powers or Equipment. No one likes to get something, only to have it taken away again because it was too unbalancing. Trust Players should trust the GM. This Trust can be gained over time through consistent use of rules, by not taking sides (That is, not favoring one player at another's expense), and by making it clear that you're not vindictive toward the players or their characters. If the players trust the GM- and through you, the game system- they will recognize that anything that enters the game has been carefully considered. If you adjudicate a situation, the players should be able to trust it as a fair call and not question or second-guess you. That way the players can focus their attention on playing their characters, succeeding in the game, and having fun, trusting their GM to take care of matters of fairness and realism. They also Trust that you will do whatever you can to make sure that they can enjoy playing their heroes, potentially succeed in the game, and have fun. If this level of Trust can be achieved, you'll have greater freedom to add or change things in your game without worrying about the players protesting or scrutinizing every decision. Handling Unbalanced Heroes Sometimes, the unexpected happens. The heroes may defeat a villain, foil an unstoppable escape plan, and steal a custom Starfighter you never intended to fall into their hands. Or, even more likely, the combination of some new acquisition with an item or power the hero already has will prove unbalancing in ways you didn't foresee. Once a mistake has been made, and a hero ends up too powerful, all is not lost. In fact, it's almost never difficult to simply increase the challenges the hero faces to keep him or her from breezing through encounters. However, this solution can be unsatisfying, since the encounters can become too difficult for the other more balanced heroes. At the same time, it's never fun to lose some aspect of your hero that turns out to be unbalancing. From the player's point of view, it's not his or her fault. You have two options: Deal with the problem in-game or deal with the problem out-of-game. Dealing with the Problem In-Game: "In-Game" is a term used to describe something that happens in the story created by the play of the game. For example, suppose a hero becomes unbalanced by building a Droid servant that fights better than any of the heroes in the group. (This is something that the GM shouldn't have let happen to begin with, but all GMs occasionally make mistakes.) An In-Game solution might be to have an enemy scoundrel sabotage the Droid, or suspicious guards might confiscate the Droid the next time the heroes visit Coruscant. Whatever you do, try not to make it obvious that the situation is actually just a tool to balance the game. Instead make it seem just a part of the adventure. (If you don't, indignant players will get very angry.) Dealing with the Problem Out-of-Game: "Out-of-Game" means something that happens in the real world, but has an impact on the game itself. An Out-of-Game solution to the problem described in the previous paragraph would be to take the player aside between sessions and explain that the game has become unbalanced because of their too-powerful Droid and that things need to change or the game may fall apart. A reasonable person will see the value in the continuing the game, and they'll work with you either In-Game (Perhaps donating the Droid to an appropriate allied organization) or Out-of-Game (Perhaps by erasing the Droid from their hero sheet and just pretending it was never there). Be warned, however, that not every gamer is reasonable in this way. Many will not appreciate this level of intrusion on your part and will resent giving up a great ability or item that their hero "Earned". After an unfortunate exchange of this type, it will seem obvious and contrived if you try to balance things with an In-Game solution.